My view and thoughts on everything!

They say 12 months in politics is a lifetime, and the past year has proven to evidently justify that saying. 2015 started with Tony Abbott at the helm of the good ship Australia and finished with a mutiny that left Tony abandoned by his shipmates, and a new captain - one Malcom Turnbull taking control and steering our ship to hopefully calmer waters. When I thought about writing this blog, I thought that an apt title for it would be "From Captain Chaos to Captain Sensible".  Because it feels like this has genuinely been the case. It is as if the nation has collectively breathed a sigh of relief since the change of leader.  So what went wrong?  and how come the mood of the nation has changed so quickly since Abbott's demise?  Let's rewind to the beginning of the year when Tony Abbott made one of his 'Captain's Calls' without consulting his cabinet.  I am of course talking about honouring Prince Phillip with a knighthood.  If you search Prince Phillip ...

It’s been a long time between drinks, as the saying goes.  Or more to the point, a long time between blogs.  I could use the usual excuse that I have been busy these past few months and as such I have been time poor to write blogs, or I could just ‘fess’ up and say I really didn’t think about writing another one.  Whatever the case may be, the good news is ‘I’m Back’! There are so many things to write about that I truly do not know where to start.  Indecisiveness kills the blogger. My recent (or not so recent) blogs have been fairly political and there’s plenty of subject matter of that ilk to write about.  Things like Bronwyn Bishop’s ‘Choppergate’ affair and her being put on ‘probation’ by Captain Tony Abbott is something I could get my teeth stuck into.  At times the whole incident is like a Laurel & Hardy sketch. Or maybe the Three Stooges (or Two) is more apt.   The good point, from a bloggers point of view, is that our Prime Minister is ...

Well it was certainly a crazy 2014 here in Australia.  Politically the government is currently more on the nose than prawn shells left in the sun for a few days.   Fifteen months into the stewardship of the Abbott government and it looks that, barring a miracle, it will be a one term government.  However, John Howard was facing decimation prior to the 9/11 attacks – and look what happened to him at the next election!  Tony Abbott was elected mainly on an anti-labor vote.  The Rudd – Gillard – Rudd debacle had left a lot of voters disillusioned with the ALP.  Abbott fed on this disillusionment by using effectively three word slogans and reminding all and sundry how bad the then government were.  Abbott would fix the budget, stop the boats and would bring stable adult government back to Australia.  Oh, and the sun would shine and lovers would walk hand in hand through corn strewn fields! However, Abbott and his cohorts did not experience a...

The Abbott government has a huge issue that it needs to resolve. In fact, it is really two issues. The first is to try and convince the Palmer United Party senators (with Ricky Muir of the Motoring Enthusiasts Party in tow) and other independent senators to pass a hugely controversial budget. The second is to sell this ‘austerity’ type budget to the electorate. So far the Government has not succeeded with either of these issues.  Even if the bills pass the Senate, and therefore becomes law, it is expected that there would still be a lot of hostility from the public. How can the government turn this around and effectively sell the specifics of the budget to an already sceptical electorate? If we look at it another way, how did the Government dig this huge ‘hole’ for themselves in the first place?  To answer this it is best to look at a couple of sporting analogies. With the FIFA World Cup breathing down our necks, I thought it would be best to start with an analogy ...

Imagine this - you are watching a heavyweight boxing match between the two best boxers in the country.  One boxer has been on the attack for the first nine rounds whilst the other boxer has been grimly hanging on, hoping for that one chance to launch a rare counter attack.  Then, round ten starts and, all of a sudden, the boxer who has been on the back foot for most of the fight launches a couple of upper cuts.  The other boxer is stunned, not only by the force of the hits, but also by this unexpected aggression from his opponent.  The attacks keep coming and the roles are reversed.  The aggressor is now defending, and the defender is launching blow after blow. This analogy really sums up what the current political situation is here in Australia.  Since the last election back in 2010, Tony Abbott and the Liberal-National Party have been on the front foot attacking the Government and, in particular, Julia Gillard.  In scenes reminiscent of Groundhog ...